1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a fuel reforming device and fuel reforming method for reforming a mixture of fuel and air (hereinafter, referred to as an “air-fuel mixture).
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a fuel reforming device for reforming an air-fuel mixture includes a reforming catalyst which reforms the air-fuel mixture, and a mixing chamber which is arranged upstream from the reforming catalyst and to which fuel and air are supplied. There is a known fuel reforming device that includes a plurality of heat exchanger plates, which is provided such that an air-fuel mixture meanders up and down, in a mixing chamber arranged at the side of a reforming catalyst, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-227419 (JP-A-2001-227419). With this fuel reforming device, particles of fuel which has not been vaporized (i.e., atomized) sufficiently (i.e., unvaporized fuel), each of the particles still having a relatively heavy weight, cannot reach the reforming catalyst. Also, it is estimated that liquid fuel condensed on a wall surface of the mixing chamber is blocked by the heat exchanger plates, and the fuel is inhibited from reaching the reforming catalyst. In this case, it can be considered that the unreformed fuel is not discharged from the fuel reforming device, and remains in the mixing chamber.
In addition, the mixing chamber is partitioned into multiple spaces by the heat exchanger plates. Accordingly, it is difficult to recover the unreformed fuel remaining in the mixing chamber.